Saturday, May 2, 1998

Dallas Cowboys coach lets Christian lifestyle speak for him

By Berta Delgado / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS -- It didn't take long for Texans to notice that a Christian man was taking the reins of the Dallas Cowboys.

A short bio in The Dallas Morning News the February morning after Chan Gailey was hired included telling tidbits. The person he would most like to meet: Jesus Christ. What he would do if he were president for one day: allow prayer in school.

Gailey, born and raised Baptist, said his faith is as important to him as breathing. But he's not one to preach about it. He said he prefers being a quiet witness, letting the way he lives speak for his Christianity.

On a recent afternoon in April -- between duties such as preparing for the National Football League draft of college players -- Gailey spoke openly about Jesus, his family, his father and football. But it wasn't Chan Gailey, coach of one of the most popular sports teams in the world, talking. It was Chan Gailey, Christian.

"It's not my right to speak for any group. I'm speaking for me and my family," said the 46-year-old husband and father of two grown sons. "I don't ever want to hide that I'm Christian. I don't ever try to do that. But it's not right for me to speak for the organization."

One on one, he'll talk incessantly about his faith.

He said he was fortunate to grow up in the church in the small town of Americus, Ga., where his parents were devout Baptists.

"I did it all, I was in the boys' choir, in the high school choir at church, in the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes), and I did the Royal Ambassadors at church," he said, smiling at the recollection as he leaned back in the leather couch of his spacious but simple office at the team's Valley Ranch complex. "Living in a small town in south Georgia, when you weren't in school, you were in church."

He said his parents and grandparents guided him toward Christ, but it was ultimately his decision as a young boy whether to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.

"Through years of going to church and being involved in Bible studies and Sunday school, you hear it, and then you have to make a decision whether you believe it or not ...," he said. "And once you believe it, are you going to live it? So what I learned from my dad was, make a decision, make the right decision, and live it. Don't just give it lip service."

He said his dad, Tom Gailey, who died last summer, taught him to do things the right way.

"Was he perfect? No. Am I perfect? No," Gailey said. "Nobody's perfect. I still struggle, just like he struggled, but he pointed me in the right direction and then said, ÔGo see what you think.' And I appreciated that."

Gailey prays that he's done the same for his sons, 18-year-old Andrew, who will attend Elon College in North Carolina in the fall, and 22-year-old Tate, a junior at Auburn University.

"They're both Christians and they seem to be headed in the right direction," he said. "I'm very proud of them. I know I'm not supposed to have pride, but I do, in them. One of my human frailties is I have pride. But they're great kids. I'm very blessed."

The Gaileys won't move to the Dallas area until Andrew finishes high school in June. Meanwhile, Gailey visits his wife, Laurie, and Andrew when he can. As the head coach of a professional football team, there isn't that much free time. Gailey couldn't make it home for his 25th wedding anniversary last month or for Easter.

"There are a lot of little things you give up when you take this job, but our marriage and our family is strong enough because of where it's based or who it's based on," he said, "that missing one Easter together or missing one anniversary is not a major problem. There are too many other good times to make that a problem."

Through 22 years of coaching at the college and professional level, Gailey said he has relied on his faith for strength.

"For a Christian, your strength, your peace, your joy, your enthusiasm, your compassion, all stems from your relationship with God," he said. "That's where it all comes from. This is hard, even when you're a Christian. Life is hard. Everybody has a tough job. But I'm in this job for a reason. I don't know what that is, but I'm here for a reason."

Gailey said he takes what he learned from his father and what he learns from Jesus to be a good example, no matter what he's doing.

"I'm a competitor," he said. "I want to win whether I'm playing racquetball or whether it's Sunday afternoon for the Dallas Cowboys. I'm going to compete the same way on the golf course, playing Scrabble with my wife, whatever, but I'm going to try to compete and win the way it should be done, the way I perceive that a Christian should do that."

So, his faith plays a major role in every phase of his life, he said.

"I don't have to call upon it more on Sunday afternoon or anything like that or in particularly tough times, even though, naturally, we do cry out to God in stressful situations," said Gailey, who reads the Bible regularly. "That's the human side of us, is we tend to get lax when things are going smoothly and we tend to cry out to God when things get tough. I don't believe that's the way it should be. I think you should try to build your relationship on a daily basis."

And that relationship is integral to knowing who Chan Gailey is. "I don't talk about it a lot, I just try. And I'm saying try because I have not arrived. I don't even think I'm close to that. But I try to do what I think God wants me to do with my life."

(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.

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